Chuck Peddle(1937-2019)
Chuck Peddle - Father of the Personal Computer, got the idea of developing a personal computer that should be a closed system which can immediately be used after plugging it to the power outlet. The result was the worlds first personal computer, the Commodore PET. This occurred almost at the same time the Apple II was introduced but the Apple II used Chuck's MOS 6502 CPU... so he kind-of-invented the Apple too. One generation older than the 'miracle children' among the computer industries well known founders like Bill Gates, Stephen Wozniak and Steve Jobs and that fact always seems to keep him one step out of the discussion. In 1973, Chuck Peddle went to Motorola to finish the development of the 6800 microprocessor. The 6800, one of the first microprocessors on the market, was correspondingly expensive with its price of $200 ($900 in 2018 dollars). From talking to large industrial manufacturers like car companies, Chuck knew that this price would inhibit the processor from conquering the market. He left Motorola and had a fresh start at MOS Technology.
What he developed in this small company would soon become the most successful microprocessor of the first microcomputer decade - the 6502 CPU. Nobody could anticipate that it was the basis of a whole industry that started not only a technical but also a social revolution.
What he developed in this small company would soon become the most successful microprocessor of the first microcomputer decade - the 6502 CPU. Nobody could anticipate that it was the basis of a whole industry that started not only a technical but also a social revolution.